The Darkness Within
by DeliriumCanidae
Summary: Danny refused to show his feelings and how he felt. So they found their own way out. Story is better than the Summary. DannyxPhantom OCxOC
1. Prologue

Sadness. Anger. Fear. Rejection. Hatred. Disappointment. Greed. Lust. Envy. Wrath. Rage. Jealousy. Angst. Disgust. Confusion. Spite. Revenge. Other wise known as the dark emotions, or The Darkness in all beings.

Each person has a different way of getting rid of that darkness. Of letting out, so to speak.

Some people choose to let it build up, then release it in great torrents. They scream. They yell. They throw things. They have all out temper tantrums.

Some people keep it settled and quiet, until they're alone, where they let it out silently. Perhaps by crying at night, or by roughing up a few models, toys, or such. Or even by fighting.

But some people choose not to show it at all. If this is the case, the Darkness finds its own way out, and it usually isn't pleasant. This was the case with Danny Fenton. He refused to show his Darkness, and so it made itself known in a very noticeable way.


	2. Chapter I

Danny Fenton stormed into his room, slamming the door shut in his wake. He looked at the full length mirror on the other side of the room. His reflection wasn't him though. Instead of unruly black hair, his reflection had unruly white hair. Instead of sky blue eyes, his reflection had glowing neon green eyes. Instead of a red and white t-shirt and jeans, his reflection had on a black and white lab suit. Instead of red and white sneakers, his reflection had on white boots. Danny looked at his reflection. It was his ghost half. Since he saw his ghost half instead of his reflection, it meant his ghost half, Phantom, was trying to figure out what was wrong, having not been paying attention for most of the day.

Danny gave the mirror a somewhat disgusted look before turning away from it and flopping down on his stomach on his bed.

'_Do I repulse you so much?_'

'**_Wha? No, of course not, Phantom._**'

Even though Phantom wasn't even close to thoroughly convinced, he let it drop.

'_So, what is wrong?_'

'**_Argument with Sam and Tucker. Something about how they're "worried I'm loosing my mind and going trigger happy"_**'

Danny could swear he heard Phantom chuckle, but it was so quick he wasn't sure.

'_Perhaps they are right. After all, the temptation to send a ghost into Oblivion is strong_'

'**_Are you saying I'm weak willed?_**'

Phantom thought Danny was joking. He didn't notice the somewhat insulted tone.

'_Perhaps. Perhaps not._'

Phantom chuckled, and stopped suddenly.

'_What's that?_' He asked suddenly. He had felt a thought quickly come, then leave. The two had a very strong mental link.

'**_Er, nothing._**' Danny lied.

'_Riiiiiight. I'm going after it._'

Next instant, Danny felt slightly dazed as Phantom started to rummage through his thoughts, trying to find the one he had spotted. Though the dizziness left an instant later. Occasionally Danny heard a 'No. Not this.' 'Nope. Not here.' Or in one case 'What the hell is that?'

'_Ah ha! Found it!_'

Danny quickly tried to hide the thought, or stop thinking it, but Phantom was quicker. He lunged for the thought and grabbed it, then quickly read it(picture Phantom standing in a completely black area reading a small white book). After that, he got very quiet.

'_So…This is what you think of me?_' Phantom inquired after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

'**_No! Of course not!_**' Danny said quickly.

'_Don't give me that shit, Danny. You know I don't like being lied to. Now let me out._' By 'let me out' Phantom was referring to them separating. Danny had gotten much more skilled, so now the two of them could separate into two separate beings.

'**_No. I don't know where you'll head to._**'

'_Let. Me. Out. NOW!_' The last part had been thought with such brutality that Danny complied instantly, so that a moment later, Phantom stood next to him, looking pissed.

Phantom went intangible a moment later, then went through the wall to outside. He flew away, probably planning on landing soon to just walk.

About half a mile from the house, Phantom landed and started walking down the side walk. He didn't walk very far before he saw Tucker and Sam, probably on the way to Danny's.

"Hey Phantom." Tucker said, stopping a few feet from the ghost.

"Hey Tucker, Sam." Phantom said a quiet, distracted tone.

"What's up?" Same asked.

"Had a fight with Danny."

"Isn't that kinda like fighting with himself?" Tucker asked.

"You insult me by calling me part of him"

"Who started it?" Sam asked. The only response she got was shrug from the ghost.

"Well, who called who what?" She asked, and received a deadpan stare. "Oh. Right. Stupid question." She said. Phantom had never actually insulted Danny. He had called him a bastard once, but they were joking. He had never actually insulted Danny. "What did he call you?" Sam asked.

"According to him, I'm just a useless, good for nothing thing of ectoplasmic energy that's ruining his life, and I occasionally make up for it by helping him save people." Phantom replied.

"Harsh…" Sam and Tucker said at the same time. Phantom shrugged. "I guess…"

Phantom sighed as he phased through the window into Danny's room. It was about midnight, and Danny was fast asleep. The teenager shivered in his sleep, his blanket around his knees, having been kicked off. Phantom sighed again and pulled the blanket back up so that his human counterpart wouldn't freeze in his sleep. It was winter after all.

Phantom sat down on the chair at the desk. Lately him and Danny had been spending as much time separated as possible. It made them feel more normal. Slowly, in the back of the ghost's mind, a persistent sadness was forming. He tried to make it so Danny didn't despise him, but the human was just to god damn stubborn. He refused to accept that Phantom could be a friend. Phantom folded his arms on the desk and rested his chin on his arms, and waited for morning to come.


	3. Chapter II

When Danny woke up the next morning, he looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing so hard he couldn't see three inches past the window. Then he proceeded to shout "Snow day!" Next he noticed Phantom leaning against the wall by the window, looking outside. "Uh, hi." Danny said. The response he got was just a grunt of annoyance, as Phantom turned annoyed green eyes on him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I ruining your life even more by waking you up?" Phantom growled sarcastically. Danny flinched at the ice in his voice. Danny hadn't even known Phantom /could/ get pissed off. He hadn't known he could be sarcastic either.

As for Phantom, the sadness that had been forming had turned into a ball of fiery white anger, aimed at none other than Danny. Sure, Phantom had never harmed or insulted the kid, but he didn't take lightly to being majorly insulted. "Well, so I don't disturb your sleep anymore, allow me to leave." And before Danny could reply, Phantom had phased through the window.

'**_Phantom, where are you going?_**'

'_Like you care. You're glad to have me out of your hair_'

'**_Well, if that's the way you're gonna act, so be it! Hell, if you like, don't come back!_**'

'_You read my mind. Good bye, Daniel._'

And with that, Danny felt the mental link go dead, so that he couldn't even feel Phantom's emotions anymore. "Shit…"

Danny picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers. It rang a few times, then "Hello?" "Hey Sam. Have you seen Phantom?" Danny asked.

"No. Why?"

"Because he left this morning, and he's been gone for like 6 hours."

"Does this have anything to do with yesterday?"

"You heard about that?"

"Yep. Anyway, try Tucker. Phantom seemed to get along better with him than me."

"Okay. Thanks, bye." And with that, Danny hung up, then called Tuckers house. After two rings, "Hey Danny."

"Hey Tuck. Have you seen Phantom anywhere?"

"Nope. He still mad about yesterday?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I haven't seen him. I do see him I'll let you know."

"Okay. Bye." And he hung up.

"You loose something?" Jazz asked, coming into the room, causing Danny to jump and drop the phone. "Sorry." Jazz said, chuckling. "So, what'd you loose?" She repeated. "More like 'Who'd I loose.'" Danny grumbled. "Phantom's pissed at me…"

"What'd you do?"

"Insulted him…"

"Must've been a pretty bad insult if he ran off."

"Yeah…"

"Well, I just came up to see if you wanted lunch, since you never came down for breakfast."

"Later." Danny said, and heard Jazz leave.

Phantom sighed from his spot on the jungle gym. He was at the playground of the elementary school. He usually came here when he was stressed. But it was usually at night when Danny was asleep. Phantom sighed as he sat on top of the dome jungle gym. Deciding that he had spent enough time here, he jumped off and started to walk away, though it was snowing so hard he could barely see.

Danny had decided to take a walk, despite the -15 degrees. He walked down the side walk, wearing his usual clothes, and a heavy winter coat. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard someone behind him say "Freeze, kid."


	4. Chapter III

Phantom was walking back to Danny's house. He tentatively opened the mental link again to see if Danny would at least acknowledge him. But once he opened the link he dropped to his knees as he felt white hot pain over the link. Someone was attacking Danny, and since they were separated, Danny was defenseless.

Danny groaned and doubled over as the older teenager, at least an 18 year old, punched him in the stomach. The older boy had originally asked for all of Danny's money, and Danny had obliged. All he had had with him was 10 dollars, and apparently it hadn't been enough for the older teen. The older had then taken out his anger on Danny, by punching him in the stomach. At that moment Danny had felt the mental link open, and he knew Phantom would feel this as well.

Phantom started flying. Whether they were angry at each other or not, Phantom was still going to help Danny. Over the mental link he could feel pain, anger, and panic.

Danny gasped as he was forced up against a wall. He was punched in the stomach again, even harder this time. He gasped as he got the air knocked out of him. He tried to breathe, but he couldn't. If you've ever had the air knocked out of you, you know it's not pleasant. Danny tried to push the older teenager away so he could run, but he couldn't. Suddenly, a blast of green energy hit the older kid and knocked him back at least fifteen feet. Danny slumped to the ground, gasping in air as his lungs decided to work again. He looked to his right and saw Phantom standing there, one hand glowing neon green. Danny's assailant quickly got to his feet, stumbled, then ran off. "Coward." Phantom muttered, then grabbed Danny's upper arm and pulled him to his feet. Danny quickly scrambled away from his ghost half. "Took you long enough!"

"At least I got here."

"Yeah, after I almost passed out from lack of air."

"Would you rather I left you there?"

"No, but-"

"Then shut the fuck up."

"Why should I?"  
"Because, quite frankly, you're being a real jackass."

Danny was silent. Phantom had never insulted him before. "Did you just call-"

"Yes, I just called you a jackass. Live with it."

A moment later Danny had the familiar dazed, dizzy feeling that meant they were no longer separated. But now the mental link was dead. Phantom had turned it off. Again.

Danny grumbled incoherently as he walked into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He threw himself onto his bed, laying on his stomach. He had a migraine, and it was steadily getting worse. Deciding that the migraine was Phantom's fault, he separated. Because of Danny's current position, when they separated, Phantom landed on the floor on his ass with a dull 'oof.'

Phantom stood, then started towards the window, making to leave again. He knew Danny was thinking tons of…less than pleasant things about them, one of the thoughts being 'Goddammit! Why can't he just die?' Half way to the window, Phantom stopped. His eyes were wide with a sort of glassy, vacant look to them. Danny looked up curiously. He watched as Phantom fell to his knees. A moment later, Phantom was holding his head, eyes screwed shut in pain. Danny stood, but then his eyes widened and he too fell to his knees, as he experienced the pain Phantom had at the moment.

**Phantom POV**

Damn. I don't think I've ever experienced anything this painful. Perhaps Danny finally found a way to send me into oblivion. No. If that were the case he wouldn't be in pain as well. Then what the hell is happening? It feels like my head's just been cleaved in two.

**Danny POV**

What. The. Fuck. What the hell is wrong with us It feels like my head is being trampled. Why is this happening? When will it stop? Heh. It hurts so much I'm surprised I can still form coherent thoughts.

**Normal POV**

Danny glanced towards Phantom, then noticed something weird. The air between them was distorted. Then two black rings appeared between Danny and Phantom. They were about the height of Danny's waist. They were sparking and fizzling, like they were short circuiting. Then, slowly, they separated, one moving up, the other down. When they were done, a human ghost hybrid stood between Danny and Phantom. His tricolor eyes were blank. The black rings vanished, and Danny watched as a black collar with a silver disk in the middle appeared around the hybrid's neck. It sparked a few times, then everything was calm.

It had taken a moment for Danny and Phantom to realize that they no longer felt like their heads would explode. They both stood, then looked at the hybrid. He looked a lot like them, kind of. He wore a hasmat suit like Phantom, but instead of black and white, his was red and white. The majority of the hasmat suit was crimson in color. The belt was white, with a black chain around it. His boots were white, with red soles, and his gloves were mostly white. The finger tips were red. The gloves flared out at the top. He was the same height as Danny and Phantom, and he had unruly hair, but that was basically where the similarities ended. His hair was crimson in color, with three black streaks and a white streaks running through it. His eyes were crimson, then changed to neon green, then to crystal blue in the center. He had a sort of ethereal red glow, kind of like Phantom's blue one.

"What is it?" Danny asked, after a few minutes of odd silence. A smirk quirked the hybrid's lips as he responded with "I'm you." His voice was strange. It could remind people of acid or snake venom. Soft, but dangerous. "Both of you actually" He added, then did a mock bow, his crimson cape fluttering. "Shade, at your service." Phantom spoke next. "How are you us?" Shade let out a hollow chuckle. "As poetic as always, I see. And to answer your question, it's rather simple. You two forced yourselves to not show your anger around anyone but each other. Thus, it built up, and made me."


	5. Chapter IV

"What's with the collars you and Phantom have?" Danny asked, then noticed Phantom bring his hand to his neck to find out that he did, indeed, have a collar. "They're sort of a punishment." Shade responded nonchalantly as he strolled around the room.

"For what?"

"My coming into existance."

"Why wasn't I punished?"

"You're human. Everything the ghost zone has, you could phase through it."

"What's with the cape?" Phantom asked.

"I dunno. I didn't design my costume."

"What do the collars do?"

"Take away some of our abilities."

"Such as?"

"For me, flight and intangibility. For you, intangibility."

"You can't fly?" Danny asked, somewhat incredilously.

"No, I can't. Got a problem with that?" Shade responded, eyes flashing threateningly. Danny shook his head quickly. "Nope. Not at all."

"Good."

Shade was sitting at the desk, his feet propped up on it, and the chair back on two legs. His eyes were closed, and he looked to be asleep. Danny and Phantom were both sitting cross legged on the bed, trying to figure out what to do about him.

"Can't we just ignore him?" Danny asked.

"No. He's made up of the anger and such from both of us. I doubt he'll be easy to ignore." Phantom replied.

"So? It's worth a shot."

"And what would that accomplish?"

"Well, with most teenagers, they leave if you ignore them."

"I highly doubt he's a normal teenager."

"Well then, can't we use the thermos?"

"I can hear everything you're saying." Shade said suddenly in a bored tone, causing Danny to yelp in surprise and fall off the bed, landing with a dull thud on the ground. Shade snickered and Phantom leaned over the edge of the better. "You alright?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Just perfect." Danny grumbled, sitting up, then climbing back onto the bed. Shade snickered, his eyes opening lazily. "Oops." He said sarcastically. "Erm, I think I'm gonna go..."Phantom said, then tried to unseparate from Danny. The only thing that was accomplished; both of them getting exceedingly dizzy. "Oops. Did I forget to mention that the collar keeps you two separated?" Shade asked, feigning innocence. "It may have slipped your mind." Phantom muttered.

"Great. Just great. There's a sarcastic, jackass of a ghost at my desk, and now I'm stuck with you around." Danny complained. Phantom's eyes narrowed. Shade's collar let off a few dangerous looking black sparks before he stood and walked over to them. "Knock it off." He growled, shoving one away from the other. "Every time you two fight, my collar sparks. And it's rather painful." "Sorry." Danny grumbled, before turning his back to Phantom. Phantom glared venomously at Danny's back, before turning away as well.

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Saturday. The weekend. The day's of freedom. You get the point. There was no school, and Danny was going to introduce Sam and Tucker to Shade. And hope that Shade behaved. Which was unlikely.

Danny heard the door open, and he heard Sam and Tucker walking up the stairs. Phantom was sitting on the desk chair, reading a book, but the chair wasn't at the desk. It was by the window, because Shade was standing at the desk, playing some computer game or another that he had downloaded. Danny's door opened, and all three occupants of the room looked up. Sam and Tucker walked in, and their gazes immediately went to Shade, who exited his game and stared right back. "Um, who are you?" Sam asked.

"Why do you need to know?" Came Shade's arrogant response.

"Tucker, Sam, this is Shade. Our...Dark side." Danny said.

"Do you have any idea how corny that sounded?" Said Dark side asked.

"Shut up."

"Why should I?"

"Because, you're being a pain in the ass."

"Awww. Danny knows colorful words." Shade said sarcastically.

"What's with the collars?" Sam asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"They take away Shade's ability to fly and go intangible, and my ability to go intangible." Phantom responded, looking at his book again, flipping the page. Phantom could read while talking, without loosing his place.

"Oh..."Sam said. "Whats with the cape?" She asked, immediately thinking of the whole 'Fenton Ghost Catcher Incident'.

Shade shrugged. "I dunno. I didn't design the outfit. Why?"

"Just curious."

"Anyway, I asked you to come to, A, meet Shade, and, B, to help figure out what I'm suppose to do with him." Danny said.

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"He can't go intangible, and he can't fly, so how do I get him out of my room. If he leaves, my parents are bound to see him."

"Good point. Maybe Phantom can fly him down through the window?"

"Hell. No." Phantom said, not looking up from his book.

"Phantom, please?" Danny asked.

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'll pull the thermos out."

"You wouldn't."

"Care to try me?"

Phantom sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Good. Do it now."

Grumbling every foul word he knew, Phantom obeyed, taking Shade out the window and down to the side walk. Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked out of Danny's room, went down stairs, and used the front door.

"So, why do you need me outside?" Shade asked.

"So that if my parents go on a ghost raid through the house, they won't find you. And Phantom, stay with him. Make sure he doesn't kill anyone."

Phantom gave Danny a very dirty look, but he didn't say anything in protest. Phantom wasn't the best of friends with either of his other sides, but he'd keep Shade from killing someone. Because, quite frankly, neither would put it past him.

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"Well, Shade's interesting..." Sam said. The three of them were just walking around, each in a winter coat. "And you and Phantom are certainly on good terms." She added sarcastically.

"He called me a jackass." Danny said mildly, and Sam and Tucker stopped.

"You mean he /actually/ insulted you?" Tucker asked, receiving a nod from Danny. "Woah..." Tucker said.

"I think it was Shade's influence. Phantom hasn't insulted me since. He seems afraid to lay a hand on me."

"Maybe he think's he'll kill you?"

"I doubt it." Danny replied, walking across the street. His friends were a few feet ahead of him, so they were safe from the car that was quickly approaching.


	6. Chapter V

Danny saw the car too late. Sam and Tucker were already at the other side of the road, so they were well out of the way of the car. Danny froze as the car sped toward him. You know, kind of like a deer in headlights. Danny closed his eyes and waited for impact. It didn't come. At least, not the kind he was expecting. He felt himself get pulled forward quickly out of the way. He stumbled, falling on top of the person who had pulled him out of the way. He heard the car speed passed, and he opened his eyes to see who had saved him. He found himself on top of Phantom. And because of the way he had fallen, he was straddling Phantom's waist. Danny blushed at the position, before Phantom said "Do you mind GETTING OFFA ME!" Danny murmured an apolagy and quickly stood. He offered his hand to Phantom to pull him up. Phantom took Danny's hand and stood. "Be more careful next time." Phantom said, his voice softer now. Danny nodded, then asked "Where's Shade?" Phantom shrugged before saying "Not sure. Last I saw him he was around the corner from here." Phantom replied. Danny sighed. "Let's go find him."

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Shade was walking down the sidewalk, grumbling something akin to "Damn Phantom, needs to fucking tell Danny he's in love with him." His hands were clasped behind his back. A moment later, he heard Phantom shout something at Danny from around the corner, but he could really care less. He sighed boredly and stopped, leaning against the wall of a building.

A moment later, a girl came running around the corner of the building, eyes closed, breathing heavily. Shade looked up just in time to be plowed into, knocked over, and roll two feet. Shade quickly shoved the brunette off of himself, then sat up, and got to his feet. The girl got up, and quickly shook her head. 'Sorry." She murmured softly. She had waist length dark brown hair, the tips dyed hot pink, and wore a long sleeved black mid-rif shirt, a black mini-skirt, and black knee length boots.

"Whatever. And what exactly are you running from?"

"Them!" The girl exclaimed, then ducked behind Shade when Dash, Qwan, and Company rounded the corner.

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Danny looked guiltily at his friends. "Uh, sorry guys, but we need to go find Shade." He said. Tucker and Sam nodded. "No problem. We'll see you later." Sam said. Then she and Tucker continued to where ever they were going. Danny and Phantom turned and went to where Phantom had left Shade.

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Shade sighed, then walked towards Dash. He'd protect the girl. But more out of boredom and the urge to hit something than from compassion. Dash stoppeed, his group stopping behind him. "Move it, Geek!" The blonde shouted. Shade merely raised an eyebrow. "Make me." He retorted. Dash growled, then punched. There was a collective gasp from the group when Shade easily caught Dash's fist. Shade took a few steps closer, then released Dash's fist, just to bring his knee up into Dash's groin. Dash groaned before going into the fetal position. Shade smirked, then leaned down and whispered "Never mess with a ghost." Into Dash's ear, before shoving the blonde football player into Qwan, who dragged him away with the group.

The girl sighed in relief, then stepped out from behind Shade. Danny and Phantom came into view, stepping around the corner of the building, just into to see the girl hug Shade around the waist. Shade blinked a few times and shock, and could hear snickering over the mental link. He sent his companions a death glare, then looked at the girl hugging him. The girl pulled away.

"Thanks. By the way, I'm Ronnie."

"Shade. And the two morons over there," Gestures to Danny and Phantom(Who glared indignatly) "Are Danny, and Phantom."

"Pleasure. And once again, thanks." Ronnie said, before walking away, apparently to her house.

Shade turned to the other two. "Morons A and B, I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me." He said. In reality, it was because he knew they'd go back to Danny's room, then one of them might /possibly/ finally spill that they're in love wit hthe other. That was why they were always such bastards to each other.

Phantom and Danny did as expected, Danny walking back to his house, and Phantom flying ahead of him.

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All was silent in Danny's bedroom. Danny sat on the bed, looking through a comic book, granted he had been on the same page for an hour now. He was lost in thought. Phantom was sitting cross-legged in midair, reading. He was also thinking, but he had the ability to think, and read at the same time, and actually comprehend what he was reading. Phantom looked up, and glanced at Danny's comic book. he smirked, before saying "What's on your mind?" Danny jumped, dropping the book.

"Huh? Nothing. Why?"

"Because, you're twitchy, jumpy, and you've been on the same page for an hour." Phantom replied, smirking still. Danny shrugged. "I'm not sure. My mind's just...not home."

"Is it ever?"

"...Not funny."

"But it's true."

"Is not!"

"Quiet! You want your parents to find me?"

Danny was about to respond, when he heard approaching footsteps. He quickly poked his head out the door, and saw his mom coming. Danny came back in and closed the door, then opened the closet. He walked over to Phantom, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him to the closet. Phantom sighed as he was shoved into the closet and the door was closed. He could hear the door to Danny's room open, and Danny's mom start talking.

"Danny, your father, Jazz, and I are leaving. You sure you'll be okay in this house alone for a few days?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Okay. See you in a few days." She said, then hugged Danny.

i u 'Can I come out yet?' /i /u Phantom asked over the link. In response, the door was opened, and he heard Danny's mother leaving down the hall. "Where are they going again?" Phantom asked curiously, having forgotten.

"To visit some relatives in Wisconsin."

"I hate Wisconsin..."

"Ditto."

After that, the room fell into an awkward silence, the two standing next to eachother. The were facing eachother, but Phantom was careful to keep his eyes averted from Danny's. After a moment, Danny felt a need to break the silence, so he blurted out the first thing he thought of; "You know, I don't hate you as much as I act." There was a stunned silence before Phantom spoke.

"Oh?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, neither do I." Phantom said, taking a step closer, green eyes finally locking with chrystal blue. Danny took a step as well, then finally threw caution to the wind, and closed the distance between them. He put his hands on Phantom's shoulders, and kissed him. If it could be called a kiss. It was barely lips brushing lips. Granted, it put a very stunned expression on Phantom's face, where as Danny was turning bright red. "S-sorry. I shou-" Danny was cut off however when he found himself being kissed by the white haired ghost. Danny started to return the kiss a moment later, and he felt Phantom's tongue run across his lips. Danny's lips parted, and a moment later, their tongues were battling for dominance, and Phantom won. The human felt Phantom's fingers weave into his hair. Neither heard the front door open, or heard two sets of feet come upstairs. They didn't hear the bedroom door open, nor notice Sam and Tucker(They were coming to see if he was back yet) peek in. Both of Danny's friends eyes widened, before they quickly retreated back down the stairs and out of the house.

Midnight. Danny and Phantom had tried staying up to wait for Shade, but both were tired. They were both on the bed, and Phantom was on his back, propped up on his elbows, Danny sitting cross-legged next to him. Danny finally gave up, then laid down, resting his hea don Phantom's chest. He soon fell asleep.

Phantom looked at Danny and smiled lightly, before putting an arm around Danny's waist and falling asleep.

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Shade was heading back to Danny's house. He glanced up at the half moon, then opened the mental link. he had closed it off so he couldn't sense them, and they couldn't sense him. He smirked when he felt a great deal of happiness over the links from both ends. "Took 'em long enough." He muttered, passing an alley. He stopped when his breath came out in a blue mist, then he turned towards the alley. "Shit..." Was all he had time to say before a large armoured figure stpped out of the alley, wrapped a hand around his neck, and picked him a yard off the ground.


	7. Chapter VI

Hiya! No, I didn't die…I just hit a road block and it took me 'til now to move it out of the way. Anyway, Shade has a bit of bad luck in this one, and I start to evolve the relationships a bit.perverted smirk

Disclaimer: I've been forgetting to do this, so I own nothing in here except Shade, Ronnie, and the plot. (And Skulker's new look)

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Shade struggled, pulling at the hand clasped around his wind pipe. Skulker smirked in an amused sort of way. "Struggle all you want, Shade. You can't escape." Shade quickly looked at Skulker, noticing that his armor looked different. It looked stronger, and less bulky. Shade struggled more, but all that accomplished was Skulker tightening his grip. A moment later, Shade felt himself get released, but not in the way he wanted. Instead, he had been thrown against the wall of the alley, sliding to the ground. He quickly got his composer back, standing up. His hands were glowing with ectoplasmic energy by now. His was a combination of neon green, crimson red, and crystal blue. At the same time, an ecto-gun had appeared out of the left shoulder of Skulker's armor. Shade fired the ghost ray, succeeding in hitting Skulker in the chest and making him stagger backwards into the wall. Skulker smirked again.

"You're not as strong as Phantom."

"Shut up."

"So. you /are/ aware of that."

"Shut up."

"Don't try to deny it, Shade."

"Shut UP!" Shade finally shouted, using both hands to fire a powerful ghost ray at Skulker. However, a greenish shield surrounded Skulker, blocking it. And before Shade could even think to move, the gun on Skulker's shoulder fired, and hit him. But instead of doing damage, it forced him against the wall, his wrists bound to the wall. with what appeared to be glowing, green shackles. Skulker smirked, before resorting to high school thuggery, and just beating the shit out of the half ghost bound to the wall.

Skulker chuckled, before phasing through the ground. He had plans in the ghost zone, and basically, what he had just done was a warning to all three of the Danny Crew. He didn't want them in his way. Once Skulker was gone, the green shackles vanished, and Shade dropped to his knees, then collapsed all together. Every breath(Yes, he breaths. He also has body heat, and a heart beat. He's half human) was a painful gasp, and he knew he had at least four broken ribs, probably more. His shoulder had been dislocated some time during that, but he didn't notice until now, when he tried to push himself up with his arms, and was quickly sent back to the ground from the pain in his shoulder. His blood was starting to pool around him from many lacerations, the reddish, green tinged liquid flowing towards the side walk in small streams.

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Ronnie grumbled incoherently as she walked down the side walk. What was doing out at 1 in the morning, you may ask? Her brother wanted her to get something for him. It was currently in a backpack, slung over one of her shoulders. Nearing an alley, she noticed a strange, thick liquid dripping over the edge of the sidewalk to the road in a thin, small stream. It looked like blood, but it was tinged green. Peering into the alley, she gasped at what she saw. Shade was on the ground, the strange blood pooled around him, trying to weakly push himself up with one arm, while his other arm hung limply at his side. "Shade!" Ronnie exclaimed, running up to him.

"Ronnie." He greeted weakly, pushing himself to a kneeling position, before hunching over and coughing a few times, coughing up the green tinged blood on the final cough.

"What happened!"

"I had a picnic with some friends." He replied sarcastically. 'What the hell do you think happened!" He shouted, before quickly regretting it as he coughed again, loosing more blood. It was times like these that he was glad he was half ghost. He could loose all of his blood, but he would just pass out for a few hours(Or days...).

"Who did it, and what's with your blood?" Ronnie asked, gesturing to the puddle.

Shade sighed. He couldn't leave her without any explanation, since she didn't seem like the kind of person to just drop and forget something. And he was in too much pain for his brain to think of a fake explanation. "Ever heard of ghosts?"

"...Yeah..."

"The thing that attacked me was a ghost bounty hunter named Skulker."

"Why was he after you?"

"I'm not sure. Possibly because I'm part of the Halfa."

"Halfa?"

"Half ghost, half human. Now known as Phantom and Danny."

"What!"

"Yeah. Not what you expected was it?"

"Shit no."

"Eloquently put."

"What should I do?" She asked.

"Well, just stay there for a moment, while I do this." He said, then using his good hand he gripped his dislocated arm tightly, and pushed. With a crunching noise, his shoulder went back into place. Shade squeezed his eyes closed, clenching his teeth. After a moment, he opened his eyes and murmured. "Damn...That fucking hurt."

"And you mock me for not being eloquent."

"Watch it, bitch. I don't exactly have the capacity to be literate at the moment. But I could still kill you."

"And how, exactly, could you do that?" Ronnie asked, her tone almost mocking.

Shade raised a hand, and the tricolor energy surrounded it, flickering and dancing like flames.

"Oh..." Ronnie replied meekly, shrinking back.

The hybrid ignored her, and started to go to a standing position, bracing himself on the wall behind him. Seeing his struggle, Ronnie immediately forgot the previous argument, and went to help him up.

Once Shade was on his feet, however wobbly he was, Ronnie walked up next to him and said "I'll help you home." Then she slid her arm around his waist, and he awkwardly draped his arm across her shoulders, and they made the slow trek home.

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Phantom and Danny were woken up at about three in the morning by the bedroom door opening, and Ronnie staggering in with a half-conscious Shade in tow.

Phantom was up and at their side in an instant, leading Shade to a chair, which he collapsed in.

"What the hell happened!" Phantom demanded.

"Skulker." Shade murmured.

"Skulker did this?" Danny asked, eyes widening. "How?"

"Shackled me to the wall."

"That jackass." Danny growled.

"You guys don't believe in proper language, do you?" Ronnie interupted.

"Not the time, Ronnie." Shade snapped, glancing at her.

Ronnie raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, fine." Then she abruptly turned serious again as she looked at Danny and said "You got a first aid kit?"

Danny nodded, and pointed to the bathroom attached to his bedroom.

"Thanks." She said, then walked into the bathroom. When she came back out, Phantom and Danny were curled up on the bed again. Ronnie smirked. "You two make a cute couple." She said. She heard Phantom snort, and she could see Danny blushing, despite that he was turned away from her.

Ronnie knelt in front of Shade, and proceeded to bandage his wounds.

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The next morning, Ronnie poked her head into Danny's room. The front door had been unlocked. Looking around, she saw Danny and Phantom still asleep on the bed, and Shade asleep in the chair she had left him in, his head tilted down so his chin almost his chest. Ronnie opened the door the whole way, and it creaked, causing Shade to jerk and his eyes to snap open. Shade looked up groggily at her, smirking slightly.

"Morning." He murmured, stretching his arms over his head. He cringed slightly when his back cracked. "Note to self; don't sleep in a chair."

Ronnie chuckled. "Good morning to you, too, Sleepyhead. It's almost noon."

"Oh. I guess I slept in a little."

"Guess so."

Then they fell into an awkward silence. After a few minutes of it, Shade stood, cracked his back again, then walked into the bathroom. When he came out, all of his bandages were gone.

"You're healed?" Ronnie asked, confused.

"I'm half ghost, remember? I heal in hours."

"Oh...I envy you."

Shade smirked, then plopped down in the chair again. He studied her for a moment, noticing something in her expression, but not quite pinpointing it. Phantom was better at reading expressions. After a moment, Shade zoned out, which was common when he was bored, so he didn't notice Ronnie edging closer to him.

**Ronnie's POV**

Whoa…I just now noticed that I'm falling in love with Shade…What the fuck? The bastard isn't even paying attention! Hmm…That means I can get closer and he won't notice.

**Normal POV**

Ronnie got right in front of Shade, then placed her hands on his shoulders. When she did, he snapped back to reality and stared at her a moment, quickly realizing what she was about to do. Before he could protest, she kissed him.

**Shade's POV**

What the fucking hell! She's kissing me!(Thank you captain obvious) Ronnie's kissing me…I just now realized, I like her…

**Normal POV**

Ronnie was worried when Shade didn't react for a moment, but then relaxed when she felt him tentatively, almost shyly return her kiss. Ronnie put her arms around his neck.

After a few moments they broke the kiss, and Shade was refraining from making eye contact, instead keeping his eyes focused over her shoulder. Ronnie smiled gently. 'So he's not a complete jackass.' She thought to herself. Then said "Shade, you don't have to be embarrassed. It's not like someone was watching."

Shade glanced up to meet her eyes. Ronnie, seeing that he was in no hurry to say anything, offered "Want to go out for lunch?"

"Uh, sure."

"Cool! But, you'll have to put on some normal clothing."

With a sigh, Shade muttered "Fine. Just, turn around or something."

Ronnie nodded. "Got it."

Shade opened Danny's closet and dug through, while Ronnie turned around.

"Ready." Shade said, after a few minutes. Ronnie turned towards him and gave an approving nod. Shade was currently wearing a black long sleeved shirt with navy shirt over it, black jeans with a chain from belt loop to pocket, his gloves(he's attached to them, I swear), and navy high top converse all stars.

Ronnie grabbed Shade's hand and pulled him out the door after her.

-------------------------------------------------------------

When Ronnie and Shade walked back into Danny's bedroom, they stopped abruptly at what they saw. Phantom had Danny pinned to the wall, using one hand to hold his arms above his head while they were in a major make-out session. Shade cleared his throat and said "Are you two almost done, or will Ronnie and I get a live porn show?"

Phantom and Danny immediately jumped apart.

"Uh, I…We were just…You see it's…"

"Will you be completing any of these sentences?" Shade asked, making Danny flush even more.

"Shade, shut it." Phantom snapped, putting an arm possessively around Danny's waist. Shade shrugged then opened the bedroom door. "Wouldn't want to intrude." He said, then looked at Ronnie. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure."

Once the two left, Phantom turned back to Danny and said "Where were we?" He asked, smirking.

Danny put his hands on Phantom's shoulders and pulled his closer, kissing him roughly.

----------------------------------------------------------

Shade and Ronnie hadn't gone far. They were in front of the house…Making out. People around here seem to do that a lot, don't they?

Shade pulled away, then went to her neck. Ronnie all but purred, tilting her head to give him more access.

Shade pulled away from her when he got a bit dazed, from the mental link closing. "Uh, we can't go into the bedroom for awhile…"

"Why?"

"They just shut the mental link off…"

"Er, does that mean they're-

"Yes."

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Author Notes:

Can anyone guess what they're doing? If not, then you are a moron. I won't change the rating, mainly because I don't get into anything to explicit.


	8. VII

When Shade felt the mental link reopen, he and Ronnie were just randomly walking around town. They had no set goal to get to; they were just looking for amusement.

'_**Can we come back yet?'**_

'_Yes.'_

'_**Good. We're bored.'**_

'_**Some how, I don't think coming back here will fix that…'**_

'_**Oh well. We're coming back anyw- WHAT THE FUCK!'**_

'_What's wrong?'_

Phantom got no answer. Instead, he felt the mental link on Shade's part slam shut, after a gasp of pain.

Danny, noticing Phantom's concerned look, said "What happened?"

"Shade was either knocked unconscious, or he was in a shit load of a hurry to close the link to prevent us from feeling something."

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Shade struggled uselessly against the glowing, green chains binding his wrists and ankles together. Vlad stood over him, looking pleased, and Skulker was behind him. Finally giving up trying to free himself, Shade stopped struggling.

"What do you want?"

"Well, my boy, that's quite simple. With the right…training, I shall say, you're the perfect weapon." Vlad replied.

"Don't I have to agree to do it, in order to be a weapon?" Shade asked vehemently.

"No." came the blunt response from Skulker.

"Oh?"

"Yes." Vlad spoke up. "We have a bargaining piece, that you can't deny?"

Shade's eyes narrowed. He didn't like anyone having an advantage over him. "What?"

Vlad smirked. "Your girlfriend." And his smirk grew when he saw Shade's eyes widen, and the bound half ghost started struggling again with renewed vigor. With a humorless chuckle, Vlad turned to Skulker.

"Bring them to the Ghost Zone palace."

"As you wish."

Shade continued to struggle, until one of Skulker's hard, metal boot collided with the side of his head, separating him from his consciousness.

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When Shade awoke, he was no longer tied. He was in a small, empty room, on the floor. Laying a few feet away, still unconscious, was Ronnie, also untied.

Shade sat up, bringing a hand to his head where Skulker had kicked him, and feeling a bump there. He winced when he touched it, then he looked in Ronnie's direction and crawled over to her. He shook her shoulders gently. With a soft groan, Ronnie's eyes opened. She looked at Shade, before she sat up straight and threw her arms around his neck. Shade hugged her closer.

"It's alright. We'll get through this."

"No we won't." She muttered miserably in reply.

"Quiet. I'm trying to be friendly. Don't ruin it."

Despite the situation, Ronnie giggled. However, that stopped as soon as the door opened, to reveal Vlad and Skulker. Vlad looked at the two hugging.

"How sweet. However, we'll have to cut this little love fest short. We have work to do."

Shade glared.

"Try and make me."

"Skulker?"

The bounty hunter walked over to Shade. Shade jumped away, but surprisingly, Skulker grabbed Ronnie and hauled her to her feet. Shade lunged at Skulker, but was shoved back. Before Shade could try and attack, a blade had jutted out of the armor on Skulker's arm, and was pressed to Ronnie's neck. With a defeated sigh, Shade followed Vlad willingly from the room. Skulker followed, pulling Ronnie with him.

---------------------------------------------------

"Any sign of them, Danny?"

"No, Phantom."

"_How goes it, Danny?_"

"Not good, Sam. We've been looking for hours, and we haven't seen hide or hair of them." Danny said into the communicator.

"_Have you tried the outer edges of the Ghost Zone, near Clockwork's tower?_"

"No! Great idea, Sam!"

"I'll go." Phantom offered, looking at Danny. "It's probably not a good idea for the Specter Speeder to go that far out, and I don't want you out there defenseless."

"_He's right, Danny._"

Danny sighed. "Fine." He said, then, turned the Specter Speeder around and flew out of the portal, into his parents lab.

------------------------------------------------

When Phantom got to the outskirts of the Ghost Zone, he noticed something new. A palace, resembling a slightly modernized castle. He flew closer, and peered into window. What he saw was…surprising, to say the least. Shade was standing in the middle of the room, arguing with someone on the other side, out of Phantom's range of vision. Ronnie was tied in a chair near the wall.

'_Shade_!'

'**_Phantom?_**'

'_What's going on?_'

'**_If I don't help them, they'll kill Ronnie._**'

'…_Them?_'

'**_Vlad and Skulker. They say, with the proper training, I can be the perfect weapon._**'

'_He never said that about me, and I'm stronger than you._'

Shade grew quiet, and turned back to whoever he had been arguing with.

"Vlad, Phantom is outside the window."

"Oh? Well, why don't you take care of this…nuisance?"

"Yes, Sir."

Shade turned towards the window, and shot an ecto-ray from his hand. It blew the window out, and knocked Phantom back a few yards. With a growl, Phantom regained his composure, and phased into the room.

After that, the room was turned into a war zone. Apparently, when Shade was unconscious, Vlad had given him something to make him stronger, temporarily.

-----------------------------------------

The two had been evenly matched for hours, but then, the potion wore off, and Phantom blasted Shade, slamming him into a wall. Shade slid to the ground.

Vlad looked at Shade.

"Get up, you useless hybrid!"

Shade slowly stood.

"I'm up."

"Get back to fighting!"

"The potion wore off."

"Skulker? Do it."

Skulker's knife had vanished hours ago, and where it had been, a gun appeared. Shade's eyes widened as realization dawned.

Skulker fired, right at Ronnie.

Shade lunged in front of Ronnie.

The last thing he said before the blast from Skulker's gun hit him, was a grim message to Phantom.

"This isn't over yet, Phantom! Not by a long shot!"

-----------------------------------------------------

Danny, Sam, and Tucker paced in the Fenton lab, waiting for Phantom. Danny whirled towards the portal when he heard the familiar 'whoosh' noise, that meant someone was using it.

Phantom flew out of the portal, carrying Ronnie, a blank look on his face, and Ronnie unconscious.

Phantom set Ronnie down, and looked at Danny, expression still blank. Danny slowly walked over to him.

"Phantom, where's Shade?"

"Dead."

"WHAT!" Danny, Sam, and tucker all shouted simultaneously.

"He sacrificed himself to save Ronnie. Afterwards, Vlad and Skulker fled, and I had to knock Ronnie unconscious to get her to stop struggling." All of this was said in a monotone.

"Are you ok?" Danny asked.

"…I have no clue…Shade's last words were rather…disturbing."

"What were they?"

"'This isn't over, Phantom! Not by a long shot!'"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"We were battling, and the potion Shade had been given to strengthen him wore off."

"Uh, we're just gonna let you two sort this out." Sam said, then dragged Tucker out.

The other two hardly seemed to notice.

After a few moments, Danny asked "How can you be sure he's dead? He could have been unconscious."

Phantom tilted his chin up, showing that his collar was gone.

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Author's Notes: Well, this is the last chapter! Next, is the Epilogue! I have ideas for a sequel. Let me know if you want one!


	9. Epilogue

Author: -sigh- Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this story is no exception. I am proud to say that I actually got some reviews on it, and I am proud of it. This is the Epilogue. Let me know if you want a sequel.

---------------------------------------------

Though death is thought to be the final stage, it isn't. There is the Afterlife. Whether you become a ghost, an angel, or a devil. That is the final stage.

Somewhere, deep in the ghost zone, a consciousness floated, waiting to take shape. Anyone who ventured near it, couldn't see the shapeless, formless energy, only heard one cryptic message.

'This isn't over.'


End file.
